Food waste collection set to be introduced next year

06 February 2018

Residents will soon be able to recycle even more from their doorstep after Wokingham Borough Council’s executive approved plans to introduce weekly food waste collections next year at their meeting on January 25.

From April 2019, households will be able to recycle almost all types of food waste, excluding fats and oils. Each household will received a sealable 23 litre kerbside food waste container, along with a smaller kitchen caddie.

Food waste will be collected on a weekly basis at the same time as blue bag and black box collections. Households will continue to receive an allocation of 80 blue bags, or more for larger families, on an annual basis and collections will remain the same.

Cllr Simon Weeks, executive member for planning and enforcement, said: “It’s estimated that as much as 30% of our landfill waste – approximately 10,000 tonnes – is food waste that can be recycled. Introducing a doorstep collection is not only great for the environment, but is also far more cost effective than sending it to landfill: the cost of recycling waste is around £60 per tonne compared with £170 per tonne to send it to landfill.”

The new service will be provided by current providers, Veolia, whose contract has also been extended beyond March 2019 for a further seven years. The new contract will see around 16 new waste vehicles to support the service.

Local authorities nationally are required to ensure that 50% of all household waste is recycled by 2020.